Front lines

Monday morning and I am still marveling at the tall so-fey Alabaman Alvin Ailey dancer who visited the shop on Saturday afternoon. After fielding the usual query to my ulterior motives, I was informed that a lot of black people don’t like to be reminded of their past, as it is too painful.

“A lot of German people feel the same way, for the opposite reason,” I told him. Of course, a lot of ignunt people feel the same way, too. And my client explained to me how he’d never been to Africa and can not relate to it.

“Barak Obama is African and American.” I’m not and I can’t relate to him. I’ll be voting for Romney, as I think it’s time for someone to stand up for Christians.”

And after looking longingly at a book on Nancy Cunard and Henry Crowder’s amalgamation and deciding it wasn’t worth it, he asked if there wasn’t something cheaper. He eventually found a $3.50 paperback – one of those books I used to put out on the table in front of the shop until someone stole the table – that made for another sufficiently cheap out, bringing this week’s sales to $10 and reminding me of the neighborhood joke about crack hoes: they’ll blow you for $5 but it costs $20 to get them to stop.